Since 5-year-olds are in the "preoperational" stage of development, they think differently from older children and adults. This means teachers should be encouraged to interact differently with younger kids. The importance of creating developmentally appropriate programs stressing playing and talking is discussed. (MLH)

This cross-sectional study explored whether participation, from early childhood, in play involving different cognitive abilities predicts visuo-spatial achievement at ages 9, 12, and 15. Based on parental assessment, prior and present practice of spatial manipulation play was found to be consistently more frequent in boys than in girls; the…

Interactive immersive entertainment, or videogame playing, has emerged as a major entertainment and educational medium. As research and development initiatives proliferate, educational researchers might benefit by developing more grounded theories about them. This article argues for framing game play as a "designed experience." Players'…

This article presents two models for creating new developmentally appropriate preschool movement programs: CHAOS (Children Helping Adults Open Senses) at Eastern Connecticut State University and "KinderPlay" at Florida International University. CHAOS and KinderPlay utilize skill themes and movement concepts as their focus and incorporate…

The present study examined the impact of the Child's Game parenting intervention (Forehand & McMahon, 1981; McMahon & Forehand, 2003) on child compliance, noncompliance, and aversive behavior in 3 groups of 20 nonreferred preschool children identified as high on dimensions of anxiety/withdrawal, anger/aggression, or social competence. The impact…

Educators have continually sought to achieve a balance between a phonics-based, code-emphasis program and a more holistic, meaning-based approach to emergent literacy instruction. This article describes an integrated phonics and literature-based approach to developing children's emergent literacy skills. These skills included alphabet knowledge,…

This issue highlights seven distinct studies. The first study examines the perceptions of early childhood educators and elementary educators concerning their beliefs about young children and how those beliefs translate to practice. The second explores joint book reading among parents and very young children. The third investigates the importance…

This practicum was designed to increase teacher knowledge base in developmentally appropriate practices and increase understanding of the need for play and sensory motor activities in the kindergarten program. The primary goal was that the kindergarten teachers would use more developmentally appropriate practices in achieving curriculum…

Social skills development of preschool children with visual impairments is discussed. A review of the literature considers the field of child development and social cognition, the effect of blindness on child development, and the effects of blindness on social cognition. Three areas concerning the development of social skills for children with…

A program was implemented to involve 10 parents in helping their preschool children with language delays. Monthly parent support groups were held, and 10 professional speakers lectured to parents on child development topics. Parents were trained by a speech language pathologist to be language facilitators for their children. Parents were also…

This collection of essays illustrates various aspects of the recent trend to situate accounts of cognitive development. The essays examine contextual sensitivity in relation to ecological theories of perception and cognition, and contrast intuitive reasoning in mathematical and other scientific domains with the child's difficulty with reasoning in…

This volume reflects some of the disciplinary and interdisciplinary diversity found in the study of programs for young children, and its chapters cover a number of matters central to early childhood development and practice, including preparation for practice. The book has 11 chapters divided into 4 parts that cover family and community, adults…

Research in Bahrain has demonstrated that children in educationally-oriented day care centers made significantly greater gains in cognitive, social, and emotional measures than children in care-oriented centers or at home. This study provided further data and addressed the question of whether there are differences in the daily learning experiences…

This guide for trainers offers a comprehensive child-centered perspective on training field workers in early childhood education. The theme of the role of play in child growth, development, and learning runs throughout the guide while its form, a series of structured exercises to help trainers handle all aspects of the subject, emphasizes the…

This report contains six papers presented at 1993 and 1995 seminars conducted by the New Zealand Council for Educational Research. It also includes the schedules of the two seminars and a summary of a general discussion on future directions in research in early childhood education and care conducted at the 1995 seminar. They include: (1)…